Telephone cabinet



April 1951 R. H. BURRAGE 2,547,,W8

TELEPHONE CABINET Filed July 30, 1948 ROBERT H. BURRAGE ATTOR N EYs Patented Apr. 3, 1951 2,547,808 TELEPHONE CABINET Robert H. Burrage, Arlington, Va.

Application July 30, 1948, Serial N0. 41,490

6 Claims. 1

This invention is a telephone cabinet, certain portions of which are foldable so that when the cabinet is not in use, it occupies very little space and yet when unfolded provides a seat or bench for the user of the telephone, as well as a small table for holding writing material; the table also provides a writing base for taking notes duringv the telephone conversation. i

An important feature of the invention is the foldable seat, This seat is pivoted on a horizontal axis at the rear of and well below the level of the seat. This axis is also quite near the front of the cabinet. With this construction, when the seat is swung or folded'to the vertical position, the seat is placed practically in contact with the rear wall of the cabinet, leaving considerable free space just in front of the seat when thus folded. This bench has a foldable leg or legs which also takes a vertical position in this free space just in front of the seat when folded.

This same free space is also important for the following reason: the door of the cabinet carries a foldingshelf; when unfolded this shelf provides a space for writing; it is foldable into a vertical plane and when the door is shut the shel is accommodated in this free space.

The cabinet of thisinvention is also provided with ashelf just above the level of the upper edge of the door of the cabinet, which shelf is provided with an inclined base for holding the usual telephone hand set, the slight inclination of this The cabinet of this invention may be built into the wall of a room, or it may be put on the market as a complete structure, which may be secured'to a wall or secured in a suitable recess built into or cut into the wall. It is particularly designed to fit in the free space between the usual two by four studs commonly used in houses. This free space isabout 14 inches. The depth required is only about 4 to 7 inches.

When the cabinet is in the. folded or closed position, the door is flush with the wall of the room or hall where it is located, so that it takes no room at, all. When so folded, the telephone is still available andreadily accessible to anyone who may desire to stand up and use it, without unfolding the bench. Bordering rails hold the telephone set securely in position for dialing, as will be described. v

Further details and advantages of the invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention inmpre detail. In these drawings:

' 2 Fig. l is a perspective view of the telephone cabinet of this invention, showing the parts in unfolded or extended position; j r Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the middle of the telephone cabinet, looking toward the left of Fig, 1,

showing the parts in folded position.

Referring now'to these drawings, the cabinet comprises a bottom member 2, a top member 4- and 5, preferably arched as shown for its ornamental effect, side members 6 and a back wall 8,

The seat or bench I0 is provided with angle irons I2, the horizontal arms of which are secured to the rear edges of the seat at I4. These, angle irons are providedwith downwardly extending arms 56 whichare pivoted on pivot pins I-8, thereby pivoting the bench on horizontal axis I8, I8. This pivotal axis is well toward the front, of the cabinet and also well below the levelof the. seatIIl. g

The rear edge II) of the seat I0 is positioned on angle irons I2 sothat this rear edge is outside the plane of the front of the cabinet, as shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2. This provides a free space just above free space 52, de-. scribedbelow, for a telephone directory 54.

The positioning of the. pivotal axis I8 as described, well below the level of the seat I0, causes the front edge Illa, when the seat is folded into 7 the vertical position, as in Fig. 2, to be positioned at a lower level, in an amount equal to the length of the arms I6 of angle irons I2. As a result of this, front edge Illa of the seat I0 is positioned at a corresponding ,lowerlevel, so that shelf 56 for a telephone hand set, described below, is 10- cated nearer theseat I0 and therefore more acseat II) is limited by a foldable bracket 24of aknown type, the arms of which are pivoted to each, other at 26, the outer ends of the arms bemg cessible for dialing .to a person seated on seat Ill.

A leg or legs 2|! isihinged by hinges 22 to the outer edge of the seatulfi. The outward swinging movement of the legZll with respect to the pivoted at 28 and 38 respectively to the seat I0 andleg20. it I When the parts just described are to be folded; the user lifts the bench and leg by hand hold 3 I swinging the bench upwardly and inwardly so that it is substantially against the back wall =8 of the cabinet, the leg 20 at the same time swinging on a horizontal axis provided by the hmges 22 against the underside of the bench. With the parts, folded as described, there is a free space 32,

above the normal level of the seat, and above pivotal axis I8,as shownin Fig.2. V

The cabinet is also provided with a door 34 hinged to side members 6 by the usual hinges 3B. This door is provided with a narrow shelf 38 fixed to the inside upper part of the door. A writing table II] is hinged by hinges 42 to the front edge of shelf 38, its downward movement being limited by brackets comprising arms 44 which are pivoted to each other at 46, their outer ends being pivoted at 48 to the inside of the door and the outer edge of the shelf, respectively. Shelf 38 may be provided with a holder 50 for pencils and pens.

To summarize the operation: 7

With the parts as shown in Fig. 1, the bench l and leg 20 are lifted and swung into the cabinet leaving the free space 32 in front of the foldable leg 20. Shelf 40 is swung into a vertical plane and the door then closed, the shelf 40 being accommodated in the free s ace 32 just in front of the leg 20. Reversal of these movements puts the parts in operative position.

There is also provided a second free space 52 below the seat level, which is convenient for accommodating one or more telephone books 54. The telephone directory 54 housed in space 52, may readily be removed and replaced through the space provided by terminating seat at the line l0 as described.

Mounted in the up er portion of the cabinet is a horizontal shelf 56, just above the level of the top edge of door 34. On this shelf there is-an inclined base 58 for a telephone hand set, th s base being provided with a rail 60 against which the front edge of the hand set engages to keep it from sliding off. The angular setting of the base 58 faces the dial toward the user, making it particularly convenient for dialing. S de ra ls 6| are also provided to hold the hand set against twisting during the dialing operation. The telephone set on base 58 is evidently readily available and accessible, both to a person seated on the bench H), or to a standing person desiring to use the set without opening the cabinet at all. By reason of the lower positioning of front edge I 0a of the seat, when folded, the shelf 56 may be positioned at a lower level, and so more convenient for dialing to a person seated on seat H).

The cabinet is designed to fit in the free space between the vertical two by four studs used generally in home construction. This ava lable free space between the studs is about 14 inches.

When the cabinet is closed, door 34 is flush with the wall in which it is mounted and so the cabinet takes up no room space at all, being entirely inset in the wall.

The location of pivot H! for the bench positions the bench at a convenient level for the person dialing the telephone.

There has thus been. provided a telephone cabinet which provides abench of substantial size on which the user may sit while using the telephone, and a shelf for holding writing materials for making notes during the telephone conversation. The described parts, however, may be very readily and quickly folded into a com act assembly, which is of the order of 4 to 6 inches in depth from front to back so that when folded no room space is used at all, door 34 being flush with the wall, as described.

While the invention has been described in some detail, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise illustrated details but may be carried out in other ways.

I claim as my invention:

. 1.A telephone cabinet, comprising a seat ply-- oted on a horizontal axis near the front of the cabinet, the pivot being located a substantial distance below the level of the seat when it is horizontal, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical position is positioned at the back of the cabinet, leaving a free space in front of the folded plane, and positionable when folded, with the door closed, in said free space in front of the folded seat.

2.'A telephone cabinet, comprising a seat pivoted on a horizontal axis near the front of the cabinet, the pivot being located a substantial distance below the level of the seat when it is horizontal, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical plane, is positioned at the back of the. cabinet, leaving a first free space in front of the folded seat, the seat being of a length such that its rear edge, when the seat is unfolded, is outside the plane of the front of the cabinet, thereby leaving a second free space in the cabinet, below the pivot for the seat and accessible when the seat is unfolded; a door for the cabinet, pivoted on a Vertical axis; a foldable shelf, pivoted on the inside of said door, on a horizontal axis, well above the pivot for the seat, and foldable into a vertical plane and positionable when folded, with the'door closed, in said first free space, said second free space, below the seat pivot, serving to receive a telephone directory, which can be removed and replaced when the seat is unfolded.

3. A telephone cabinet, compris ng a seat pivoted in the cabinet to swing about a horizontal axis, angle irons, the arms of which are about N 90 apart, having their horizontal arms securedto the edges of the seat and their vertical arms pivoted at their lower ends, a substantial distance below the level of the seat when in the horizontal position, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical plane is positioned at the back of the cabinet, leaving a free space in front of the folded seat; leg means pivoted to the outer end of the seat to serve as a vertical support for the unfolded seat and positionable, when folded, in said free space; a door for the cabinet, pivoted on a vertical axis; a foldable shelf, pivoted on the inside of said door, on a horizontal axis, above the level of the seat, and foldable into a vertical plane and also positionable in said free space when folded with the door closed.

, to the edges of the seat and their vertical arms pivoted at their lower ends, a substantail distance below the level of the seat when in the horizontal position, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical plane is positioned at the back of the cabinet, leaving a first free space in front of the seat when folded, the seat being of a length such that its rear edge, when the seat is unfolded, is outside the plane of the front of the cabinet, thereby leaving a second free space in the lower part of the cabinet, below the level of the seat and accessible when the seat is unfolded; a support pivoted to the end of the seat and foldable into a vertical plane with the seat and positionable when folded in said first free space; a door for the cabinet, pivoted on a vertical axis; a foldable shelf. pivoted on the inside of said door, on a horizontal axis, above the level of the seat and also positionable when folded with the door closed, in said first free space, said second free space, below the seat pivot, serv-f ing to receive a telephone directory, which canb renewed and replaced when the seat is unfolded.

5. A telephone" cabinet, comprising a seat pivoted on a horizontal axis near the front of the cabinet, the pivot being located a substantial distance below the level of the seat when it is horizontal, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical position is positioned at the back of the cabinet, leaving a free space in front of the folded seat; a'door for the cabinet pivoted on a vertical axis; a foldable shelf, pivoted on a horizontal axis on" the inside of said door, above the level of said seat, and foldable into a vertical plane, and positionable when folded, with the door closed, in said free space in front of the folded seat, and a shelf for a telephone hand set, positioned above the top edge of the door when closed, and above the front edge of'the seat when the seat is folded into the vertical position, the location of aid pivot for the seat below the level thereof as described serving to position the shelf for the telephone hand set nearer the seat when the seat is unfolded, said shelf also acting to define the top wall of said free space. 1

6. A telephone cabinet, comprising a seat pivoted on a horizontal axis near the front of the cabinet, the pivot being located a substantial distance below the level of the seat when it is horizontal, whereby the seat when folded into a vertical position is 'positioned at the back of the cabinet, leaving a free space in front of the folded seat; a door for the cabinet pivoted on a vertical axis; a foldable shelf, pivoted on a horizontal axis on the inside of said door, above the level of said seat, and {foldable into a vertical plane, and positionable when folded, with the door closed, in said free space in front of the folded seat, a horizontal shelf positioned above the top edge of the door, when closed, and above the front edge of the seat when the seat is folded into the vertical position, the location of said pivot for the seatbelow the level thereof as described serving to position the shelf for the telephone hand setnearer the seat when the seat is unfolded, and a base for a telephone hand set, positioned on said shelf, said base being inclined downwardly and outwardly.

ROBERT H: BURRAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 553,072 'Porteous Jan. 14, 1896 1,485,714 Roach Mar. 4, 1924 1,488,735 Burk Apr. 1, 1924 1,7 75,307 De Gennar Sept. 9, 1930 

